Heterogeneously-Catalyzed Glycerolysis of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters: Reaction Parameter Optimization

Catalytic Activity of High-Surface-Area Amorphous MgO Obtained from Upsalite

The first aim of the research was to synthesize a pure Upsalite, which is an amorphous form of MgCO3, by modifying a procedure described in the literature, so that it would be the precursor of a high-surface, amorphous magnesium oxide. The results indicate that within the studied reaction conditions, the type of alcohol used as the reactant has the most pronounced effect on the yield of reaction. From the two alcohols that led to the highest yield of Upsalite, methanol gave a substantially larger surface area (794 vs. 191 m2 g−1). The optimized synthesis conditions of Upsalite were used to obtain MgO via thermolysis, whose activity in the transfer hydrogenation reaction (THR) from ethanol, 2-propanol and 2-pentanol to various carbonyl compounds was determined. The optimal conditions for the thermolysis were as follows: vacuum, T = 673 K as the final temperature, and a heating rate of 2 deg min−1. The high-surface, amorphous magnesia (SBET = 488 m2 g−1) was found to be a very selective catalyst to 4-t-butylcyclohexanone in THR, which led to a diastereoselectivity of over 94% to the E-isomer of 4-t-butylcyclohexanol for more than 3 h, with conversions of up to 97% with either 2-propanol or 2-pentanol as the hydrogen donor. In the case of acrolein and 2-n-propylacrolein being used as the hydrogen acceptors, the unsaturated alcohol (UOL) was the main product of the reaction, with higher UOL yields noted for ethanol than 2-propanol.

Tracing the acid-base catalytic properties of MON2O mixed oxides (M = Be, Mg, Ca; N = Li, Na, K) by theoretical calculations

The stability and acid-base properties of MON₂O mixed oxides (where M = Be, Mg, Ca; N = Li, Na, K) are studied by using ab initio methods. It is demonstrated that (i) the basicity of such designed systems evaluated by estimation of electronic proton affinity and gas-phase basicity (defined as the electronic and Gibbs free energies of deprotonation processes for [MON₂O]H⁺) were found significant (in the ranges of 272-333 and 260-322 kcal/mol, respectively); (ii) in each series of MOLi₂O/MONa₂O/MOK₂O, the basicity increases with an increase of the atomic number of alkali metal involved; (ii) the Lewis acidity of the corresponding [MON₂O]H⁺ determined with respect to hydride anion (assessed as the electronic and Gibbs free energies of H^- detachment processes for [MON₂O]H₂) decreases as the basicity of the corresponding oxide increases. The thermodynamic stability of all [MON₂O]H₂ systems is confirmed by estimating the Gibbs free energies for the fragmentation processes yielding either H₂ or H₂O.

Catalytic Synthesis of Monoglycerides by Glycerolysis of Triglycerides

The synthesis of monoglycerides by the transesterification of triglycerides with glycerol was studied using zinc glycerolate as a heterogeneous catalyst.

The effect of the operating variables on the triglyceride conversion and monoglyceride yield was evaluated. The maximum values of triglyceride conversion and monoglyceride yield reached at 2-hour reaction time were 83 and 49 %, respectively. These values were obtained at 240 °C with 3 % catalyst loading and glycerol/oil molar ratio of 6. When the molar ratio of the reactants was increased, the triglyceride conversion and monoglyceride yield achieved an optimum value. This behavior was related with a competitive adsorption of the reagents.

It was possible to reuse the catalyst without significant changes in activity.

Glycerolysis of palm oil using copper oxide nanoparticles combined with homogeneous base catalyst

A hetero/homogeneous catalyst system was used in glycerolysis of oil and significantly improved the selectivity for monoglyceride at high oil conversion.

Tailoring base catalyzed synthesis of palm oil based alkyd resin through CuO nanoparticles

Palm oil based alkyd resin was synthesized by an alcoholysis–polyesterification process over a base catalyst tailored by copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles.